Friggin' hilarious

Just watch it... I was in hysterics, probably b/c I am brain dead from all this work but don't hold that against me
... (esp. good if you like Will Ferrell ...)

glam cams - system azure

I think this is a great art project - artist Jill Magid set herself up as a 'security ornamentation' company, and convinced Amsterdam police to let her decorate their surveillance cameras with rhinestones...http://www.systemazure.com/

TV / film Indie names and pointers

So it's hard to think of life after being a MAVA, but we all must make money at some point. For those who are interested, here are some of the names of TV indie productions to look at possibly applying to.

I sat down with the series producer of Dog Borstal before I left the BBC two weeks ago. He's been in the business 15 years and began by working on observational, longer-term projects. He goes back and forth between BBC projects for money etc and independent projects of his own. These are his pointers:

1) If you want do an unpaid work experience placement at the BBC (4 weeks maximum), search and apply at:
https://jobs.bbc.co.uk/fe/tpl_bbc03.asp?newms=se
It's great for the CV, gives you good contacts and most importantly provides you a taster of life in TV.


2) There are 2 books especially that have lists of film/TV/radio production companies and their contact details. This can give you an idea of which production companies are where. These two books are:
The Media Guide/Directory, published by Guardian Books <>
The Knowledge <>


3) If you want to try your hand at one of the big TV indie studios that produce much of the popular F&L (Factual and Learning) on TV, the big ones are:
RDF Media
Talk-back Thames
Endemol

Smaller ones:
20-20
October
Windfall


4) If you want to get into editing, he recommended looking into what are called 'Facility Houses', which is where many production companies send their footage when the editing is not done in-house. One he mentioned are:
Crow TV
Clear Cut
Uncle (part of 'The Farm' in London)
Blue
Tele-cine

5) Read Broadcast Magazine for updates on what's been commissioned, so that you know what's going on in the industry, as well as to whom you should send your CV. You can also subscribe to Production Base, which is an online media job agency that can help you get your CV to production companies. It costs around £15/month.


This is a VERY incomplete list. There are so many other options--here in Manchester, many in Bristol and some in Birmingham. My series producer recommended applying to these companies as a runner/researcher, prove yourself and get the hang of the company and then look for options to film/sound record/edit. They're always looking for 'new talent' (read: fresh blood).

Streaming documentary archive from FourDocs

I love FourDocs. What a great resource for those of us who keep missing the opening hours of the GCVA film library and would rather watch films on our computers. These are some of the most influential docs made from 1906 to 2003. And now FourDocs has won a BAFTA for interactive innovation!

http://www.channel4.com/fourdocs/archive/a_to_z.html

Thank you all

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the adorable card and cornerhouse gift vouchers. It was really sweet of you guys to do that. And I loved it.

I love all of you darling little MAVAs!!!

Demetri Martin...hilarious

okay so this is totally relevant to our studies. he uses visual enhancers. that counts right?!

If any of you are interested, here is the site I made for the presentation today. The font is too small, but is gives you an idea.

Cruising Map.

See you all soon.

Kiwi gangsta-folk showdown: Hiphopopotamus vs Rhymenoceros

These guys - Flight of the Conchords - are from my home town. They're kinda funny.

Ultimate essay distraction - super 8

I recently was lucky enough to score a super8 camera from Freecycle. There's no way I'm going to have a chance to try it out before leaving for my summer project, but if for some reason any of you have some time up your sleeve and would like to play around with it I'd be more than happy to lend it. Feel a bit guilty having it sitting around unused.
Came with a mic and manual (and lovely plush royal blue-lined case, yummy!), apparently hasn't been used since the 1980s but worked fine then...Just let me know if you fancy camera-sitting.

Bitmapping

This project sounds fun - 'Bitmapping invites you to take art in a rare experiment in democratic art. An opportunity for everyone with a camera-phone to contribute to a unique, organically evolving exhbition - a consensual roadmap of perspectives and close-ups on the fabric of urban life'
more here...
www.bitmapping.com
Unfortunately because of an incident of overly democratic art - someone swiping my camera phone at Arnolfini art gallery a while back - I can't participate, but maybe you're technically enabled and want to give it a go...

It's my dick in a box...and yes Rob, it's all for you.

Boredom Buster...

SLEPPING WHILE YOU DRIVE

Add to My Profile | More Videos
ok, so its a little cheesy but I think I'm biased b/c I used to date the lead singer of this band for one red hot minute back in LA... I think most of their songs are shit...but I do like this music video and plus its got great shots of LA's biggest attraction (the freeway!)... i do miss having a car just to have the freedom to drive off somewhere random...

ethno - what?

http://www.ubu.com/ethno/

Check it out... ethno soundings, ethno visuals and now ethno poetry, and its even mentions "in situ"...what else could you want from a website?

Ubu the website its on is full of stuff to waste your time rather then write an essay or transcribe a film!
xoxo, Banana

Reflections on the BBC...

SO after 3 weeks in London, being slave labour at the BBC, I've come to a couple conclusions...

-Talking to people about their dog's poo can be more interesting than I thought. I was helping to cast dogs and their owners (known as 'contributors' in TV lingo), and I learned a lot along the way--and not just about dogs.
-The BBC is not as bad as Gavin and others made it out to be. My producers did have a strong code of ethics and a love of good documentaries. They do shows like Dog Borstal (not as bad as most crap on BBC3) between doing projects they're passionate about. It pays the bills. And in this business, you're lucky if you have steady work that pays the bills. What filmmaker/actor DOESN'T do one crap money-maker to make the films s/he loves?
-Some people at the BBC really are just as bad as Gavin made them out to be--and worse. I overheard a conversation between a commisioning exec and a producer about a show they wanted to call Bare-Naked Ladies (like the band) to get people to watch. They've recently been working on shows called How big are your breasts? and Help! My dog's arse is as fat as mine! I kid you not. These people make me want to burn down the BBC.
-For people like us, work experience at the BBC is perfect for 1)your CV 2)a foot in the door and 3) connections to other production companies. I left last Friday with two A4's full of contacts (producers/directors and production companies) to send my CV to. No one else is going to tell you this, other than those in the business and those in-the-know. I feel SOOOOO much better now about getting a job in documentaries after this course.
-Despite a veneer of organisation and calm, producers are spontaneous and last minute when it comes to hiring people. I told a producer working on WWII: Behind Closed Doors that I speak Russian. She said, 'Great! Can you start Monday?' I just about cried when I told her I had to come back to Manc to return to Uni that day and work at the Stationery Box. If you send out your CVs, be ready to start the next day when the producer phones you.
-CV's: I sat down the head of HR for researchers/runners (essentially, us when we start at a production company) and he helped me re-structure my CV to send to producers. I will write another posting about how to do a CV for the TV industry. Stay tuned...
-MAVAs kick ass! No one else there doing work experience had the training we have had. I knew more about their Sony cameras and Sennheiser radio mics than the producers! We have skills that we can use to our advantage--we arrive at their doorstep pre-trained, so we can more quickly get jobs on camera or sound.
-As much as I loved being at the BBC, we're probably best off sending our CVs to independent production companies first (I'll make a list in another posting). It's much easier at indies to climb the ranks and go to camera or sound jobs, rather than wasting a year or two at the BBC as a runner. The BBC has so few jobs right now in Factual & Learning (docs and reality TV). They're contracting those out to the indies, for the most part.

SO those are just a handful of my reflections. There will be postings to come with CV advice and a list of independent production companies we can send those pretty little CVs to.

Wordsworth Rap

Cinema of Ideas

This is a great new initiative organised by various people from BFI and Independent Cinema Office...Its in London but will have podcasts by the look of it, and they also take suggestions for potential events and discussions.
http://www.cinemaofideas.org.uk/

Vituoso Busker

This is a long but interesting article about an experiment where one of the world's most renowned violinists plays for the morning rush hour crowd in a Washington DC subway station.

via urban honking

Cheap and cheerful hard drive

Hey - I've been looking around for a hard drive and have found this one from Western Digital which seems to be basically the same as the Lacie version with the firewire and USB interface, but its £115 rather than £170
Ran it past David Henderson who seems to think it will do the trick just fine, so thought I would share this discovery...

Internet Video Activism

Here's a video my friend helped make to help publicize the efforts to release a prisoner from Guantanamo.

She's also pointed me to this video blog about everyday life in Baghdad. It's another good example of alternative form of distribution, and connected to this glossy but interesting attempt at global dialogue that doesn't seem to be living up to its full potential.